Whitney Museum leader linked to tear gas quits after protest
NEW YORK (AP) — The vice chairman of New York's Whitney Museum of American Art has resigned amid protests over his ownership of a company that makes tear gas and other law enforcement supplies.
Warren Kanders' resignation Thursday came days after eight artists asked to withdraw their work from the Whitney's biennial exhibition over Kanders' role on the museum's board of trustees.
Kanders' company, the Safariland Group, sells body armor for police officers, as well as tear gas.
Kanders decried the current "politicized and oftentimes toxic environment" in his resignation statement.
The Whitney's director, Adam D. Weinberg, thanked Kanders and his wife, Allison, for their "unwavering commitment" to the museum in a statement.
The artists who withdrew from the Whitney Biennial over Kanders said they would remain in the show now that he has resigned.